March 09, 2017

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The question sex-abuse victim Craig Maurizi would like to ask U.S. Olympic leaders is simple and searing: "How can you sleep at night?"

Every bit as perplexing: How to make sure this doesn't happen again?

The figure skater was one of four Olympic-sports athletes who testified to a Senate subcommittee Wednesday about abuse they suffered while training and competing under the purview of the Colorado Springs, Colorado-based U.S. Olympic Committee and the national sports organizations that controlled their Olympic dreams.

Their testimony provided yet another reminder of the way leaders at the USOC, Colorado Springs-based U.S. Figure Skating, Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics and other federations failed to protect them over a span of decades.

At a USOC board meeting held later in the day, acting CEO Susanne Lyons outlined a six-part "Athlete Action Safety Plan" the federation is developing as a response to the abuse cases.

But the abuse victims, including Olympic gymnasts Jordyn Wieber and Jamie Dantzscher and speed skater Bridie Farrell , cast doubt on the USOC's motivation to solve this problem.

Wieber, who won a gold medal in 2012, is among the roughly 200 athletes who have detailed abuse by team doctor Larry Nassar , who is in prison for molesting athletes on the U.S. gymnastics team and at Michigan State University.

"After many people came forward and said Larry Nassar had abused them, I didn't get a phone call from anyone at the USOC asking anything until after I gave a victim-impact statement," Wieber said, recalling the emotional week in a Michigan courtroom that spotlighted the depth of the abuse scandal. "If you're not currently a competing athlete, you're not really relevant. They don't really care anymore."

The USOC is in search of a new CEO—someone to replace Scott Blackmun, who resigned with health problems in February.

When Blackmun resigned, the USOC announced a number of initiatives that mirrored the six-part plan Lyons described Wednesday.

It includes more funding for abuse victims and a review of the governance structure of the USOC and the 47 national governing bodies, or NGBs, whose sports make up the Olympics.

The USOC has also doubled its funding—to $3.1 million a year—for the Denver-based U.S. Center for SafeSport, which opened last year.

Two months ago, the center responded to Maurizi's call about a four-decade-old abuse case that U.S. Figure Skating swept under the rug when he first reported it 20 years ago.

"When I think back to my particular situation, there's just no way that dozens, if not hundreds, of people around the ice rink didn't know what was going on," he said. "Five-hour meetings in the office with a 15-year-old boy? That's ridiculous. So, my question would be: How do you live with yourself? ... How can you sleep at night?"

Leaders at the USOC, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State could be forced to answer those questions May 22, which is the date the Senate subcommittee has scheduled its next hearing on the sex-abuse cases.

It's doubtful the USOC will have a new CEO by then, though it's becoming clear it needs a well-articulated path forward through a devastating 12 months for Olympic athletes and the organizations that are supposed to protect them.

Max Siegel, the CEO of Indianapolis-based USA Track and Field, said commercial partners are hesitant to strike deals under the current climate.

"It's an indication to me that it's impacting the commercial viability of the business, and it's a reflection of the societal challenges we face," he said.

He said he was not opposed to a rethinking of the relationship between the USOC and NGBs, which have long valued their independence as the training grounds for Olympic athletes. The USOC has often positioned itself as an umbrella organization—a mere bystander when it comes to day-to-day operation of the sports.

"It's not always clear what role we should be playing," said Lyons, who attended the hearings in Washington, D.C. "Sometimes, athletes fall between the cracks a bit when they have issues with NGBs."

Farrell served up the only concrete proposal in the more than two hours of testimony to the Senate subcommittee.

She would like to see more athletes—closer to 50 percent—placed on NGB boards. She'd also like to see retired athletes given a chance to serve.

The USOC appears amenable to that suggestion; one of its reforms is to see that athletes have a louder voice in decisions that impact them.

When asked what she would say to the leaders, Farrell said she would make one simple request:

"Take our names out, take our pictures out, and put their kids' names and pictures in there, and see if it makes a difference," she said. "Let them know there are thousands of people looking at them, as they should be, for missing the opportunity."

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